♦ Invoking emergency powers, the Fed will create a special fund to buy up commercial paper—short-term debt that companies typically use for such things as payroll—in an effort to ease up the credit markets. [Bloomberg] ♦ Wachovia and its sparring suitors, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, have agreed to a two-day truce as negotiators try to work out a resolution. [WSJ, DB]♦ Did you miss Lehman CEO Dick Fuld's testimony before the House yesterday? A recap. [WSJ, FT, NYT]
♦ Bank of America reports that profits plunged 68% in the third quarter. [CNNMoney]

♦ Hank Greenberg is expected to blame former CEO Martin Greenberg and Eliot Spitzer for AIG's downfall. [NYP]
♦ Hedge fund guru Ken Griffin's two funds are down by more then 20 percent this year. Now he's considering the unthinkable: reducing fees. [NYT]♦ AMD has announced plans to split into two companies. [NYT]♦ A roundup of the bankers and lawyers who "have been called in time and again to devise solutions for some of the nation's most troubled financial firms." [DB]♦ Fears of a prolonged, global recession are spreading. [NYT]
♦ Here's a more optimistic take: some experts say we've hit bottom. [NYP]